Insteel Industries Inc. (IIIN) hit a new 52-week high yesterday, reaching a peak of $26.51 after opening at $25.83 and closing at $26.19 for a move of 2.42%.

Hitting a new 52-week high is a notable milestone for any company, and it can mean a trading opportunity on either the long or short side, depending on one's perspective. Some view a company hitting its highest price in a year as a sign of momentum and think it means it's time to buy in. Others, though, tend to interpret a new 52-week high as likely signaling the end of a strong run, with the stock peaking out before a period of decline.

However one plays it, it’s often a critical moment for any stock and should be noted by investors.

The new 52-week high came on a volume of 101,645 for a stock that has a float of 18.6 million shares and an average daily volume of $101,809. The day's trading means the company's market cap is now at $487.14 million and it has a 50-day SMA of $22.20 and a 200-day SMA of $19.19.

Insteel Industries Inc. is based out of Mount Airy, NC and has some 790 employees. Its CEO is H. O. Woltz.

Insteel Industries Inc. is also a component of the Russell 2000 Index, which is an invaluable tool for any small-cap investor. Consisting of the smaller 2,000 publicly traded companies of the 3,000 largest companies in America by market cap (which combine to make the broader Russell 3000 index), the Russell 2000 gives the most comprehensive snapshot of the small-cap market of any index out there.

What's more, the Russell 2000 is maintained by Russell Investments, a company committed to using rules-based methodologies to construct unbiased indices that differ from the committee-selected Dow Jones Industrial Average or S&P 500.

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